


Summer Illusion

by somnimouse



Series: Family Lost-and-Found [1]
Category: No Thank You!!! (Visual Novel)
Genre: Bittersweet Ending, Dreams, M/M, Pining, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-05
Updated: 2020-08-05
Packaged: 2021-03-05 22:27:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,435
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25722817
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/somnimouse/pseuds/somnimouse
Summary: Ryu dreams of a pool and the man he fell in love with that fateful summer.
Relationships: Haru/Kurosawa Ryu
Series: Family Lost-and-Found [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2001553
Comments: 5
Kudos: 24





	Summer Illusion

“Watch your step,” Ryu warns Yufumi. The tiled floor is still gleaming with small puddles, and he doesn’t want her to slip and fall. His adopted daughter nods and hurries carefully to the end of the shallow end of the pool, curious about the noodles floating in the water. Ryu keeps a close eye on her, but although he’s changed into swim trunks in case of an emergency, he isn’t interested in swimming. He wonders if renting the place out was a mistake on his part.

Even though there’s not a single staff member around, they are not entirely alone. As Ryu reclines in the beach chair at the poolside, a familiar person kneels to his left. “I really like pools,” Haru tells him, chin resting in his palms. His swim bottoms are red like blood and contrast far too much in the pristine blue surrounding them all; Yufumi picked them out for him when they went shopping together. He’s still wearing the black sports wrap around his arm and leg despite them not doing much to cover the wicked dragons etched into his skin, but luckily for him,

 _people with tattoos aren’t allowed in at this facility_

they’re waterproof. “It’s so cool and it’s like you’re looking down at the sky from above. You can smell the chlorine! Ryu, you should go for a swim with me.”

Ryu stiffs him with an uninterested glare. He knows the second he’s in the water, Haru will pounce in an instant. He could feel Haru’s playful eyes on his ass a few minutes ago when they got changed, and although he knows he won’t try anything with Yufumi here, he’d rather not risk it. “I’ll pass.” Ryu’s attention returns to Yufumi, testing out her cat-themed inner tube at the shallow end of the pool, and he hopes she doesn’t wade out too far despite her flotation device. It’s only the three of them in this building, and while he’s certain she will listen, he can’t help but worry.

Haru’s arms snake around his waist in a snug hug. Ryu frowns, but Haru rests his cheek on his shoulder, ignoring his reaction. The small nagging thought in the back of his mind, _I can’t smell anything at this pool_ , ebbs away to make room for Ryu’s slight annoyance at this display of affection. “If I was drowning,” Haru muses, “would you fish me out and give me CPR?”

“I’d have no reason to do that.”

“What if I gave you a coupon for it?”

When Ryu sighs in irritation, Haru’s laughter grows stronger, full of joy and endless love, and he presses a gentle, nipping kiss into Ryu’s lips. Ryu allows himself to lean a little into his embrace under the watchful gaze of no one. The pool is a beautiful bright blue like Haru’s eyes, reflecting the endless space of sky. Was summer always this warm and comfortable? The pool’s never had a place in Ryu’s inflexible, strict schedule. He can’t even remember a time he’s been to one with Ai in the past.

Haru’s eyes are on him again, taking him in and fully understanding his expression, his essence, everything about him. “Ryu,” he murmurs. One of his hands trail into Ryu’s, tangling their fingers together, and for once, Ryu doesn’t shove him away. Haru looks so content and at peace, surrounded by white tiles, sunlight and crystal clear water, as if he truly belongs here. _Is this the world you’ve been looking at this entire time?_ Ryu thinks. Something in his heart, no longer bound and chained, stirs restlessly, and as Haru reaches up and touches their noses together, Ryu can’t help but soften his own gaze and look straight through his glasses into him as well. 

Although he’d rather die than admit it to his face, his life would be much emptier without this strange idiot of a man. His defenses, built tall over a decade and impenetrable like titanium, unravel like smooth ribbons in Haru’s curious but gentle hands and bare his soul anchored away at the very bottom. Ryu hates feeling so vulnerable, naked and so open to attack, but Haru has seen every last detail and moved heaven and earth for him many times over. Somehow, it feels safe, to be here with him like this and simply exist.

“Onii-chan! Look!”

Both men jolt at Yufumi’s voice, and Haru withdraws his hands and face from Ryu just as the little girl makes her way to them. She’s waving something in her hand. “I found this at the bottom of the pool,” she says excitedly. It’s a glossy and surprisingly dry coupon, neatly scribbled on with red, blue and black markers. If it weren’t for the kanji and the familiar doodle of Haru’s head in the corner, Ryu would have assumed it was nothing to be concerned about. 

_I’ll do anything you say, but you can’t ask for “everything,” “always,” or “forever.”_

“Haru,” he calls out instinctively. The man in question is no longer beside him. He is in the water, already half-submerged, stretching and too far to reach. Haru turns his head back and gives him the same bright, tender smile from that day in the warehouse. He’s mouthing something that should read as familiar, but something sour and hot wells in Ryu’s heart. Haru is waiting for his command, and once he gets it, he and this summer illusion will disappear.

“Let me think about it,” Ryu says without hesitation.

Haru laughs and dives into the pool, and he wakes up alone in his bed. Ryu squeezes his eyes shut, unsurprised to feel a little bit of wetness at the corners of his eyes and a dull, burning pain in his chest at the realization. _Remnants of water from the pool_ , he thinks bitterly.

Yufumi exits the bathroom the second Ryu leaves his room for a glass of water. Her nose and the corners of her eyes are red. “Yufumi?” he calls out, and crouches down to inspect her face. She must have been rubbing at it for a while. “Did you have a bad dream?”

Yufumi nods, looking smaller than usual and unbearably lonely. Ryu takes her hand in his and walks her back to her room. Eyebrows mews in her bed, clearly distraught at the absence of his favorite human. “Do you want to talk about it?” Ryu asks her, tucking her in. He sits on the edge of the bed and watches her collect herself. Eyebrows settles in next to the pillow and nuzzles his face into Yufumi’s.

His daughter’s voice comes out quiet and hesitant. “... I had a dream about Haru-oniichan,” she murmurs. Her large eyes peer up at Ryu’s narrow ones, seeking permission to go further. Ryu nods and pats her head in encouragement, and Yufumi continues. “We were eating ice cream at a park, and we were having so much fun together. Haru-oniichan said you would like it there, too, and we could have a picnic.” One of her small hands reaches out to brush against Eyebrows’ fur, and the cat purrs gently. “I-I... I miss him. When will he come home?”

Half-lies come out of Ryu’s mouth so easily and color his voice with gentleness reserved only for her and Ai. “Haru’s work is difficult. It might be a while before he comes back.” He doesn’t have the heart to tell her it might be a very, very long time. It might be years—maybe never, although Ryu knows it won’t be of his own volition. “When he comes home, we’ll get ice cream and have a picnic at Minami-Ikebukuro Park. We’ll need to wait patiently until then.”

“I’ll... I’ll wait.” Yufumi looks up at him again. Uncertainty is still etched onto her face. “Onii-chan, are you waiting for him, too?”

Neither he nor Yufumi are strangers to waiting. Even though they both have each other now, there is still a piece missing from their newly-found family that can only be filled by that strange man who changed their lives for the better that fateful summer. “I am,” Ryu says softly. “I miss him just as much as you do.”

They both stay silent, but with Ryu’s presence and Eyebrows’ kneading, Yufumi’s eyelids begin to droop. Ryu pets her head one last time and stands up. “Sleep well, Yufumi,” Ryu whispers. He closes the door quietly and heads back to his room.

Life must go on, and he has Yufumi and Eyebrows to look after. For now, Ryu buries his feelings under those white pool tiles, waiting until the day Haru comes home.


End file.
